Sandy Shore
by lil'chrome-chan
Summary: She was like the sand—grip too hard and it would scatter and escape from the crevices between his fingers. And he was like the wave—forever trying to pull her in, only to no avail. [TsuSaki]


**Author: **lil'chrome-chan

**Pairing: **TsuSaki

**Rate: **K+

**Genre:** Romance, Family

**Summary: **She was like the sand—grip too hard and it would scatter and escape from the crevices between his fingers. And he was like the wave—forever trying to pull her in, only to no avail.

**AUTHOR NOTE: **Not much to be said here. I just want to write as many TsuSaki fics as possible. This fic is inspired by episode 20 and some doujin from Pixiv! :3

The summary's just some random metaphor I came up with. I hope it relates, though...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Nagi no Asukara!

Tsumugu shifted his gaze from the magazine he was reading when he heard the sound of curtain being opened. Behind the light yellow curtain was Chisaki, with only her head sticking out. Shyly she looked at Tsumugu, as though asking for help. He looked around, making sure no one was looking, before marching into the fitting room.

"I'm so sorry, Tsumugu. But I can't zip it on my own…" Chisaki muttered as she showed him her exposed back by moving her long purple hair forward.

He gulped soundlessly, trying to look as natural as possible when he caught a glimpse of her bra. He was grateful Chisaki had already pulled up the zipper halfway. She owned such fair skin that it was hard to refuse the temptation to feel it under his palm. For a middle schooler, her body was incredibly mature and curvaceous. Shaking the thought away, he tried to focus on task at hand.

"…Tsumugu?" she slightly turned around to check on him.

"Sorry, I was spacing out." Tsumugu slowly reached for the zipper and Chisaki giggled. "You're such an airhead sometimes, aren't you?" she sounded joyful.

Smiling warmly, Tsumugu then started pulling up the zipper. "Don't move. Your hair will get stuck," he warned.

Chisaki nodded, "Okay," and moved her hair out of the way properly.

When Tsumugu pulled it up, however, the zipper couldn't get pass the area of her bra. Blinking, he thought that maybe he didn't give it enough force and tried again, only to meet the same end.

"Chisaki, I can't zip it."

"Whaaat?" she moaned. "Jeez, why? And I really like this one too…"

"Should we get you another size?" he offered.

Sticking out her lower lip, Chisaki averted her gaze and pouted. "This is the biggest one they have. I know I'm just some girl who's too big for her age," she mumbled.

He wanted to say something, but when she's pouting he knew better than to say anything. Chisaki never sulked long enough. Never persistent enough regarding this kind of thing, she would just drop the topic and find another thing as a substitute. He found that side of her adorable.

"Sorry. I asked you to help me and it's all in vain," she smiled apologetically. "I guess I'll just wear my old dress to the prom. We can save money that way, too."

He nodded and left the fitting room.

_**Sandy Shore**_

_By: lil'chrome-chan_

Their walk home was a silent one as usual. Tsumugu was prone to being quiet and enjoyed peaceful moment of being alone with Chisaki. On the other side, Chisaki had also gotten used to Tsumugu's quietness and didn't think of it as anything bad. In fact, she cherished the time they spend together in silence. But sometimes she did want to have a proper conversation with the boy.

"So… did anyone ask you to be their partner for the dance?" Chisaki spoke up, breaking the silence.

"A few," he answered simply.

"I see."

After what seemed like a short silence, Tsumugu faced her. "Did anyone ask you to?" he asked in a rather serious tone.

Blinking, Chisaki answered, "Well… a few…"

"How many?"

"I don't know. I didn't really count them…"

"Did you accept any?"

"What, Tsumugu? Why are you interviewing me?" she laughed softly at Tsumugu's occasional childishness. It was always refreshing to see that side of him.

He looked downward, "Just because…"

Silence fell onto them again as they walked down the sidewalk. The saltflake snow had started to pile up after a year of eternal winter. Gradually, the temperature had started to drop even more than before and Chisaki had started to finally wonder how long they could manage to continue living the same way they currently were. What if she passed away before she could meet Hikari and the others again?

At that thought she started to tear up.

"What's wrong, Chisaki? Are you feeling unwell?" came a worried voice from beside her.

Her vision was slightly blurred when she looked at him. He looked sincerely worried about her.

"Is your Ena getting dry?"

Wiping her tears with the back of her palm, she shook her head and smiled at him. "No, it's nothing."

"Oh," Tsumugu's expression dropped. He knew there was something bothering her. If not she would never be able to ask him to pull her zipper just now. Usually she would be too embarrassed. The fact that she did meant she wasn't able to think clearly today. But she wouldn't tell him a thing. He really felt as though she hadn't trusted him enough to tell him everything that was bothering her. But he wouldn't expect her to open up when she had only known him for a year. He had no right to press in further on the topic.

She was like the sand—grip too hard and it would scatter and escape from the crevices between your fingers.

But someday… maybe someday she would open up to him and tell him everything. Truthfully he wanted more than anything to tell her that he was ready to accept her as a whole. Every flaw and every wound in her heart, he didn't mind them. As long as she would move forward and smile, it was enough for him.

"…Tsumugu? Hello?"

He didn't realize that Chisaki had been waving her hands in front of his face for a while now.

"Ah, sorry, I was spacing out again."

"Jeez, this is the second time today, you know?" she scolded, placing her palms on her hips and scowled. In that pose, she looked incredibly lovely instead of scary. "Come on, let's go home and have some rest. You must be dozing off because you're sleepy. Pull yourself together!" she pumped a fist skyward in an encouraging manner.

"Okay…" he muttered. She's so adorable…

But whenever she got too enthusiastic, it meant she was actually a bit down.

Without warning, she grabbed his hand, making him almost jump if only he didn't have such good self-control. "You won't space out again this way, right?" she smiled.

"Ah… yeah…"

"Oh, I know! Maybe this will keep you awake!" she pounded her fist on her palm. "Let's stop by Saya Mart and buy some snacks. Also, I'll cook your favorite food tonight. How about that?" she said proudly, looking smug all of a sudden.

"Pfft," at this point Tsumugu really couldn't contain his laugh. It just escaped from his lips involuntarily.

"Eh? What? Why are you laughing?"

"Do you even know what my favorite food is?" he asked.

"Well… you eat everything. But I know you actually don't like natto and onion, right?" she said.

He blinked, "How did you know?"

"Just intuition."

Tsumugu wasn't sure if Gramps even knew he didn't like those. He tried his best to look indifferent no matter what food he ate because Gramps said it would be rude to be picky about food. They need to appreciate anything they could eat.

"…also, I know you love that canned orange juice we bought the other day. Actually I like that one too. Not to mention it has such cute design. If people were to see you buy that, I think they'll be surprised, though…" she giggled.

"I'm surprised you know that much…"

"Well, you're surprisingly easy to read, so…" she smiled.

Her phrase left him dumbfounded. He was often told that he was hard to read or that he had no preference. But this was the first time anyone had ever said he was easy to read.

"Then, can you read my mind? What do I want for dinner tonight?" he asked.

"Eh? Hmm…" Chisaki stared at him, scowling as she tried to read him. It took her a while, maybe a couple of minutes, before she reluctantly gave him the answer, "Beef curry and fried anchovies… maybe…?"

Taken aback he was, but he wouldn't show it openly. His hand reached the top of her head and patted it, "You're amazing. Maybe you should open a fortune-telling booth…"

Blinking, it took her a while to notice that he was actually just teasing her. Slapping his hand away, she huffed and turned away, pouting. "Tsumugu, you dummy!"

Tsumugu couldn't help but smile at her reaction.

To be honest, when he regained consciousness after the Boatdrift Ceremony was over, he was more than shocked to learn that all his seafolk friends besides Chisaki had gone missing. Before meeting the four of them, he never had any real friends, and losing them sent him a huge impact. He didn't know what to do. Should he just forget about them and move on? It's not like they're dead. They're just sleeping at some place he couldn't reach.

But Chisaki's existence made him deny his first option. He came to a second option: to be the replacement of what Chisaki had lost. Unlike what he felt, what Chisaki felt was a huge loss—a wound that needed a long time to heal. She would cry every night and it made him realize how important they were to her. The way she acted around him also proved that he was nothing compared to her missing best friends.

"…Tsumugu? Hey, Tsumugu! Jeez, you're spacing out again!"

"Sorry," he murmured.

"Come on, let's go home quick. You really need some rest." She took his hand into hers and stepped forward slowly.

"Hn."

After spending a year with her, he finally realized that he had moved to a third option: to cherish her as a person and to fill in the holes her friends left behind. He didn't know if he could manage such difficult task. But when he saw her smile, he felt like it worth everything he had been trying so hard for. And every time she called his name, it felt like the holes in his own heart were the ones being buried instead.

"Tsumugu, do you think we should go to the prom as partners?" she asked, her hand still connected to his.

He nodded, "It's more convenient that way."

"Yeah, it's more convenient that way," she giggled.

Behind her, he smiled warmly. Suddenly he was afraid that he was already unable to let go of her. She was like the sand—grip too hard and it would scatter and escape from the crevices between your fingers. But if you let water seep in, it would stay firm in your palm.

If he got to know her little by little, maybe, then maybe, she would stay with him.

.

.

.

**The end**

Please tell me what you think of this new piece. This one's original so I'm not very confident about it.

By the way, I'm now open for prompts. I accept requests and I'll do my best to write whatever you guys want me to! It's limited to TsuSaki, though.

Do write your prompts in your review or PM me :)


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